Dolphins’ Foster back at practice, but cagey about availability Sunday

Arian Foster has been held out by a hamstring injury. Unless it’s been to his groin.

If there’s confusion about his health, he seems just fine adding to it.

Foster, who hasn’t played since Week 3, practiced Wednesday. But he wasn’t ready to proclaim himself ready for game action.

And he shed no light on what exactly has been hurt all these weeks.

When asked if the two injuries were related, Foster deadpanned:

“Yeah, they're cousins.”

First cousins?

“Distant. ... Same blood line.”

Here’s what actually happened: Foster was knocked from the Patriots game with a groin injury, but also re-aggravated a hamstring issue that bothered him in training camp. He’s had just 47 yards on 16 carries this year.

Long story short, injuries have again affected his season. And he’s frustrated by it.

“You want to be out there and help the team with as much offseason work I've put in to get back healthy from the [Achilles] injury I had,” Foster said. “And a little thing pops up. But it's part of the game. You can't scream the universe. It's not the universe's fault.”

Foster said he’s been sprinting in recent days, but wanted to see how he responds to a week of practice before discussing if he’ll play Sunday against the Steelers.

“I want [the hamstring] to not hurt,” Foster said. “That's the goal. ... It doesn't hurt. It's just [wasn’t] where it needs to be. There's a certain amount of confidence you have to have in soft tissue injuries in order to explode like you want to explode.”

▪  Laremy Tunsil (ankle), Branden Albert (illness) and Jelani Jenkins (groin) were also back at practice after missing the Titans game. Jordan Cameron (concussion) and Xavien Howard (knee) were still held out. Safety Reshad Jones (unspecified) was also absent.

▪  Earl Mitchell, who has missed the last four games with a calf injury, said he’s on track to be ready for Week 10 if the Dolphins decide to activate him. Mitchell is on injured reserve, but the team could designate him to return after an eight-week window.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Dolphins’ Foster back at practice, but cagey about availability Sunday."